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Thursday, April 14, 2011

Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders, who played their first match of the Indian Premier League season 4 at their home ground without city's favourite son Sourav Ganguly, witnessed their lowest ever turnout and that prompted team co-owner Shah Rukh Khan to get into the damage control mode.

Playing their first match at home without the 'Prince of Kolkata' Ganguly, who was shunned in the Indian Premier League auctions, the Eden Gardens witnessed empty seats with a turnout of just about 25,000 in 63,500-capacity stadium.
Gauging the situation, the Bollywood superstar was quick to dedicate their maiden victory over Deccan Chargers on Monday to their former iconic player Ganguly.
"I really want to do (win) this because I am not playing here. Ideally, I want to do this for Kolkata, I want to do this for Sourav Ganguly, I want to do this for IPL," Shah Rukh said after their nine-run win over the Hyderabad outfit.
Shah Rukh also said Ganguly might not be playing for the Knight Riders but the former Indian captain was is still a part of the team in soul and spirit.
"In the three years of depression, what has kept us going is that Kolkatans have stuck with us. Dada is part of our team always in soul and spirit."
"Whenever, I've come to the Eden I've only felt love. I never thought whether it's because of one player or any other reason. I'm just happy being here."
Shah Rukh hoped that Ganguly would come and cheer Knight Riders in the upcoming six home matches.
"We had, in fact, asked him to join us in watching the match (against Deccan Chargers last night) together, he could not make it due to some engagements. Hopefully, he will be with us for the rest of the matches."
At a briefing well past midnight at the team hotel, Shah Rukh also said they would slash the ticket prices, making his intention clear that he would like to see a packed Eden Gardens.
"Ticket prices are going to be lowered soon. There was a time in the first season too when crowd turnout was low. But I am sure if we play well, people will come to watch the matches."
"The team is playing well. I'm sure people will come to watch if they have to," he said.
Shah Rukh said he has full faith in the young turks of the team.
"Twenty20 is very very unpredictable. My faith, however, is in the youngsters in the side. The support staff have worked very hard on them. I'm sure it's the young boys who are going to take KKR forward."
In news for all the wrong reasons, Knight Riders have been associated with a lot of controversies in the past and Shah Rukh hoped they would manage to keep their focus only on winning matches.
"Hopefully, this is the start of a better season. Hope all youngsters in the side will get an opportunity and learn from seniors. We have had lots of controversies in the last three seasons, Hopefully this season will be controversy-free," he said.
"What has hurt me and disturbed me most is the fact that we have had a lot of controversies, unnecessary controversies from every corner. Again we start this year and the only thing that has kept me through this is the fans in Kolkata...actually the fans all over the country."
'Kuchh jeetne ke liye kuchh haar na parta hai... aur haar ke jeetne wale ko Baazigar kehte hain' ---- may be a superhit dialogue from his film 'Baazigar' but Shah Rukh said it does not please his ears anymore.
"The line from 'Baazigar' does not sound funny anymore. We have lost too many times. I've no qualms in admitting that we have not done too well in earlier seasons."
Shah Rukh further said his movie 'Chak de! India' was based on hockey so it was not the right movie for his team.
"I would not like the players to watch the wrong movie (Chak de! India). It was on hockey, not cricket. Moreover, since it was such a popular movie, I'm sure most of the players most have watched it."
The principal owner said he never goes inside the dressing room for pep-talk.
"I only give them love. They are all professional people and we have an amazing support staff for guidance and assistance."
"When they win I give them a hug and say 'well done'.When they lose I still give a hug and say: 'Don't worry, do better next time'."
On KKR's new music video featuring Shakira, Shah Rukh joked: "Yes, she's going to be our opening batsman next time."

Pakistan national cricket team head coach Waqar Younis, refused to get involved in a controversial war of words when media implored him for a reply to former captain Javed Miandad’s statement, regarding a poor bowling and fielding performance by the squad in the ICC World Cup 2011.
Waqar added that over the last year the cricket squad has relatively shown improvement, partly due to the hard work he has been putting in.
“I don’t want to indulge in such things. I am doing my job on the field and during the last 12-14 months the team has shown improvement,” claimed Waqar.
Pakistan lost to India in the semi final clash by 29 runs, after scoring a tally of 231 runs against the target of 260 set by India at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali, on March 30, 2011.
The bowling legend denied that the team lacks in the fielding department. However, Waqar pointed out the weaknesses of the batting line-up and suggested that the batsmen need to polish their skills with time.
“Our bowlers have been doing well and they did a nice job in the World Cup too. The question mark remains on our batting; after scoring 30-40 most of our batsmen throw away their wickets. And I think it is not due to any technical fault, rather they need some time to get matured in order to prolong their stay at the wicket,” he said.
Waqar Younis, who does not agree with the critics who are unhappy with the fielders, explained that the overall World Cup performance by the fielders was satisfactory, except for the semi final against India where they put up a shoddy show of dropping catches.
Citing the instance of the warm welcome the Pakistan team received on their arrival from the World Cup, Waqar said that the nation was satisfied by the squad’s performance despite their semi final defeat.
Regarding pace man Junaid Khan’s selection for the West Indies tour, the former captain hinted that the bowler may lead the pace attack in the upcoming series. He said that Wahab Riaz usually is performs better with the old ball so he may be more suitable for the death overs.

Pakistan’s limited overs skipper, Shahid Afridi, did not accompany his team on their flight to the West Indies on April 14, 2011.
His absence from the team raised a variety of speculations, that he forgot his passport in Karachi, or, he has requested the board to leave later because he wanted to visit his father in Karachi, who is not feeling well.
Apart from Afridi, the entire Pakistani squad set off from Lahore airport to Qatar, from where they will be leaving for West Indies, via London.
"Afridi will now join the team after leaving later on Thursday from Karachi", a board official said.
Not only this, the skipper also remained absent from the team’s last day in training camp, which also raised many questions. "Something may be wrong but no one is willing to speak about it", a source told media.
In the recently concluded International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2011, Afridi brilliantly led his team to the semi-final stage of the tournament. Under his captaincy Pakistan remained among the top performing teams of the tournament.
The skipper was the top performer of his team, claiming 21 wickets, which are highest in the tournament along with Indian pacer, Zaheer Khan, who reached the same figure after the final.
After Pakistan team’s ouster from the mega event by India in the semi-final at Mohali, the national selectors decided to introduce some new talent for the Caribbean tour.
Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, and, Umar Gul, who were part of the mega event campaign, were sidelined, and Afridi revealed that selectors will come up with a different combination for the tour of Zimbabwe.
Before the team departed, manager Intikhab Alam, expressed hope that they will perform well and will come back home with a win.
The West Indies tour includes one Twenty20, two Tests and five One-Days. The warm-ups will start on 18th of April, while the tournament will start with the first Twenty20 on April, 21, 2011.
Pakistan will play Test matches under the captaincy of Misbah-ul-Haq.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has postponed the decision of appointing the new batting coach for the Pakistan cricket team till the end of the West Indies series. The board has delayed the appointment, after the former captain, Javed Miandad, refused the responsibility as a batting coach for the national team.
The national cricket team will be touring the Caribbean this month, for one T20, five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and two Test matches. The series will start on 23 April and end on 20 May.
The PCB official stated that the board was not expecting Miandad’s refusal for the post of the batting coach. This has created a little upheaval within the board’s governing body.
The official said, “Actually nobody in the board was expecting that Miandad will refuse this offer and everybody was considering him as a batting consultant for the squad. However, his refusal stunned the management and they did not have sufficient time to look for a batting consultant before the West Indies tour.”
The PCB official is of the view that as there is very less time left before the start of the West Indies series and it is not possible for the board to appoint a new batting coach for the team.
He said, “Pakistan will spend one month in West Indies and it is improper to name a new batting coach at this moment. We believe that the board will be in better position to name someone for this slot towards the end of this tour”
The board official also said that they are looking forward to appoint a suitable person for the batting coach post, but no names have been finalised yet. He added that the higher authorities are considering few former veterans, who will be finalized and announced in the near future.
However, the Pakistan cricket team captain, Shahid Afridi, initially raised the demand of a new batting coach, as his team failed to prove themselves as fighting campaigners in the ICC World Cup 2011 that ended with India’s victory as the World Cup champions.

Pakistan national team head coach, Waqar Younis, has laid emphasis on the need for revival of India-Pakistan cricketing ties for the triumph of the sport. He compelled the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take suitable measures in this regard. The cricket veteran claimed that the match between the two cricketing giants is greater in magnitude than the Ashes Series.
“The most important thing for Pakistan is the revival of our contests with India, which is also beneficial for the entire cricketing world. The rivalry [between India and Pakistan] is more important than the Ashes,” said Waqar Younis, stressing on the restoration of India-Pakistan cricket.
He appreciated the move by the India Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Yousuf Raza Gillani to watch the World Cup semi final match together at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium, in Mohali on March 30.
Similar gestures in the future can help bridge the void between the nationals of both the countries.
Speaking of Pakistan former cricket captain Javed Miandad’s refusal to act as the team’s batting coach, Waqar suggested PCB to consider other capable candidates instead of pushing Miandad to assume the role against his will.
In reference to the upcoming West Indies tour that starts on April 18, Waqar Younis promised the nation that the mistakes from the World Cup 2011 performances will not be repeated again. The squad is not taking the Caribbean side lightly and our considering them as tough contenders. This is suggested by the hard work and commitment shown by the Men in Green during their practice sessions.
The seasoned cricketer also said that the induction of the young blood in the team is a sign of hope for Pakistan cricket. Few of the promising youngsters on the squad include Junaid Khan, Sadaf Hussain, Usman Salahuddin and Mohammed Salman. He believes the West Indies tour to be a lucrative opportunity for the new entrants to flaunt their talent.
“After the World Cup it is a practice that every country inducts youngsters while targeting the next World Cup. And so we also included some new players for the West Indies series. And all of them will get chances,” stated Waqar.

Tokyo: Japan is planning to bid for the 2020 Olympics as part of its recovery from the devastating earthquake and tsunami which hit the country in March.
City governor Shintaro Ishihara made the declaration following his re-election for a fourth term.
“Although they [the 2020 Games] are nine years from now, we can start raising our hand,” he said.
“If we work hard with hope, it will be a big catalyst for our country’s reconstruction and revival.”
Large areas of Japan’s east coast were devastated by the 9.0-magnitude quake and resulting tsunami waves.
In 2009, Tokyo lost out to Rio de Janeiro in the race to host the 2016 Olympics.
Ishihara was criticised for spending in the region of 15 billion yen ($176m) on Tokyo’s failed bid which centred on staging a compact and eco-friendly games.
Candidates for 2020 must submit their bids to the International Olympic Committee by 1 September this year.
The host city will be chosen in Buenos Aires in September 2013.
Berlin, Busan, Cape Town, Doha, Rome and Istanbul are among the cities to have signalled an interest in bidding to stage the 2020 event.

Mumbai: Bollywood actor and Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisee owner, Shahrukh Khan, has said that he is confident of his team emerging stronger in the upcoming matches of the tournament.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) secured their first victory over Deccan Chargers by nine runs on their home ground in Kolkata on late Monday evening.
Khan expressed confidence in the youngsters and said that the mixture of youth and experienced players in the team will help perform the team better.
“See T-20 is not something that I can be very confident of. I have always been confident and gone wrong. I think the team spirit is going to be made up of youngsters in the team, the local boys, the new boys, and the boys who perhaps have not played much at the international levels as others.
“These are the boys who have been playing together. I think the staff and the whole team have really-really worked very hard on that. They feel very united like a team. I have always said that if these youngsters can be good, all the major players, they will only add more strength to the team, so my belief is more on these youngsters,” Khan said.

New Delhi: Indian Cricket team is not likely to visit Pakistan in the near future, said Rajiv Shukla, Vice President of Indian cricket board.
He was commenting on media reports claiming the prime ministers of the two countries had agreed to resume bilateral cricket relations, who met on the sidelines of the Pak-India world cup semi-final on March 30 in Mumbai.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had Invited his Pakistani counterpart to witness the match. The prime minister had agreed to repair the relations between the two countries.
Shukla told BBC that they had not received any word from the government on resumption of cricket ties.
Earlier on Wednesday, media repots had said that the Indian team would visit Pakistan first and than the Pakistani side would tour India.

Pakistan's players have not been a part of the IPL since its inaugural season, but the PCB has plans to launch their own equivalent of the Twenty20 tournament, though they have admitted it will not be possible to host it in Pakistan. Instead, they want to host the tournament in Dubai, where Pakistan have played one-day internationals against Australia and South Africa, and the latter in a Test match.The name of league may be PPL ( Pakistan Premier League).

Sultan Rana, the chief of PCB's domestic cricket department, told Pakpassion.net the plans had been in the pipeline for the last two years but the board had to delay it because of the attack on Sri Lanka's cricketers during their tour of Pakistan in March 2009.

"We first considered the idea a couple of years ago," he said. "The documents were complete and we were all set to go, but the attack on the Sri Lankan team meant that we had to shelve all of our plans at that time

"I recently went to Sri Lanka during the World Cup and spoke to many other countries' board representatives, but apart from Sri Lanka they are reluctant to send their players to Pakistan. So, that presents a problem for us. We simply cannot host the tournament in Pakistan if we want to attract the top players."

The IPL was also hosted abroad in its second season, when the tournament was shifted to South Africa after security concerns arising from the Mumbai attacks in December 2008 meant it could not be staged in India. Rana was confident Pakistan's board could do something similar.

"What we are trying to do is to organise a competition in Dubai. This idea was discussed in the past and has very much been in our plans and is still on the table. I'm sure we (PCB) can organise this tournament, which will run along the lines of the Indian Premier League."

"We have selected some youngsters for the tour in the hope that they get groomed and serve the country in the future," Waqar said at the conclusion of a two-day training camp in the eastern city of Lahore.

Kamran Akmal, dropped after his sloppy wicket-keeping in last month's World Cup, made way for 29-year-old Salman Ahmed while veteran batsman Younis Khan, rested for the tour, was replaced by 20-year-old Usman Salahuddin.

"We are not taking the West Indies team lightly. We also have experience at our disposal and we hope to do well on the tour," said former captain and fast bowling legend Waqar, adding that he hoped to see an improvement in his side's batting.

"Whatever shortcomings we had during the World Cup, we want to overcome. The main thing is that I want the batsmen to show improvement."

Pakistan failed to persuade former great Javed Miandad to serve as batting coach and Waqar said the team should look elsewhere.

"I don't know why we go round and round and come back to Miandad again and again. If Miandad doesn't want to do the job then we must ask someone else for help because its not an issue of technique, its an issue of slight adjustment in batsmen's scoring runs," said Waqar. (AFP)

All the Cricket fans must know Hashim Amla(South African Cricketer). Hashim is a devout Muslim and plays Cricket for South Africa. He objected to the advert for Castle Lager beer on the South African team kit and has been allowed to wear a shirt without the logo of Castle Lager(A alcohol/wine company).

Muslim Cricketers playing in IPL.

Two franchises of IPL are mainly sponsored by a liquor company Royal Challenge. Banglore's main sponsor is Royal Challenge, And all the players are subjected to put logos of Royal Challenge on front of their shirts while Rajhastan's team players are subjected to put logo of Royal Challenge on back of their shirt along with a small-logo of Kingfisher(Another liquor company) on shoulder of shirt.

I am hugely disappointed to see Muslim players playing in IPL and by not showing any resistance to not to promote alcohol companies. I remember Wasim Akram was highly criticized 4 or 5 years ago when he worked in ad of a alcohol company.

Muslim players who have put logos of alcohol product so far in IPL.

1. Wasim Jaffer: Played for Banglore
2. Muhammad Kaif: Played for Rajhastan
3. Yusuf Pathan(Son of Imam of Mosque and brother of Irfan Pathan): Played for Rajhastan.
4. Kamran Akmal: Played for Rajhastan

Other Muslim players who will join in league with-in few days.

1. Misbah-ul-Haq: In squad of Banglore(Which is named after a alcohol company and has main sponsor i.e Royal Challenge).
2. Younis Khan: In Squad of Rajhastan.
3. Sohail Tanvir: In Squad of Rajhastan.

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket team has left for West Indies from Lahore after completing the training camp.

Talking to media before departure at Allama Iqbal airport, team manager Intikhab Alam said, "I am hopeful with young cricketers, they will perform well and InshAllah would help to win the series against West Indies."

He said that young players have a golden chance to get experience and to show their performance.

National cricket team would play a T-20 and a series of one-day international matches under the captaincy of Shahid Afridi, while two test matches under the captaincy of Misbah-Ul-Haq.

National cricket team will start the tour of West Indies with a practice match. The practice match between Pakistan and West Indies teams will begin on 18 April.

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My name is Usama Abbasi.I am working with famous online news agency "Humari News" for about 2 years.I am writing news on this blog from very long time.
for contact email us at blog.pakihungama@gmail.com